Interview Essay - Mary Goddard

Interview Essay - Mary Goddard

Mary "Lallie" Goddard was born on December 28, 1922, in New Mexico. She has two daughters and two grandchildren, one boy, one girl. She enjoys exercising regularly and volunteering her time with others.

Lallie Goddard defines happiness as being content. She says that this definition has changed over time. "With so many things been thrown at you through the course of your life, you learn to be content. I have my favorite things around me. My mother could take having things thrown at her, so I learned from her."

When asked how she knows when she is happy, she said, "I really only know when I am unhappy. I look forward to getting up early and staying occupied, and I volunteer as a mentor."

Because she doesn't like to burden people, she will go to the fitness center and exercise when she feels unhappy. Exercise is an important activity for Lallie and it contributes to her happiness. She usually goes to the fitness center at 7:00 am and enjoys interacting with the people there.

Lallie said that it makes her unhappy when something is disturbing her children or grandchildren. She has two daughters and two grandchildren: one boy and one girl. She says that other people's attitudes don't affect her sense of happiness, but they do affect her disposition.

Lallie's childhood truly influenced her sense of happiness. "I had a wonderful childhood, she said. "I was the only child and I had complete freedom. I was able to roam the countryside of New Mexico on my horse, and I only had to come home to eat. My dad was a lumberman and worked at the sawmill. It was hard to keep a teacher in the sawmill, because they would leave half way through the year. So my mom became my teacher from grades 3 throug...

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...do not think the higher power is looking down on me personally. I believe that you create your own heaven, or hell on earth, and that there is no afterlife."

Lallie's advice for achieving happiness was this, "Find something that you enjoy, some kind of work. Money is not necessarily the thing to pursue. You should aim for the things that you enjoy the most, and hopefully you will find your niche. A good example would be your professor Kathy Hodge - she really enjoys teaching!"

And finally, when asked to summarize her philosophy on life, Lallie replied, "Whatever you do in life do the best you can. The end result will be that you are happy. Do not be so self-critical or else you'll drive yourself crazy."

Lallie was a kind soul. Talking to her was like talking to a good friend. I enjoyed and agreed with her outlook on life. I would be proud to be her friend.